Many years ago I
owned a game for the original Xbox called Enclave. I've fond
memories of playing that game and it was the kind of game
where levels could be replayed over and over again collecting
more in-game gold along the way. It was not only enjoyable to
play the first time round but very replayable. However it was
one of those games that didn't work on the Xbox 360 and there
was no PlayStation version so I was no longer able to play it.

Recently I found it
available on GOG.com but it's also available on similar sites
too such as Steam. It's very cheap $5.99 and I was able to
pay using PayPal. The download also comes with game manual,
wallpapers and avatars. It works on Windows 7, 8 and Windows
10.

I'm going to play
from the beginning, while trying not to cheat if possible,
and mention highlights of the game in this playthrough. I'm
really looking forward to it.

The opening screen.

The Beginning.

There are multiple
characters within this game each with different strengths,
abilities and weapons available to them. The more gold you
collect the more weapons you can purchase making your
mediocre character incredibly powerful. You can also replay
levels you've already played in order to collect more gold.

There are two game
modes known as the Light Campaign and the Dark Campaign. In
other words you can play as the good guys or bad guys. The
Dark Campaign isn't available to you until you've completed
the Light Campaign at least once so I can't tell you about
that until later, but it is a whole lot more fun playing as
the bad guys in this game.

The game begins
with only one character available to you known as the Knight.
He has no weapons to begin with but later finds a sword and
shield. He is quite a boring character to be honest but you
later unlock another character once you complete the level
which is fairly short.

You are already a
prisoner in a dungeon while another character, known as the
Assassin, taunts you from the adjoining cell as she is about
to be rescued. She threatens to kill you but things don't
quite go according to plan for her due to her bungling
rescuers. Incidentally she is a playable character within the
Dark Campaign. The first level is fairly simple and there's
lots of hidden gold so have a good search.

You begin the game as the Knight.

The imprisoned Assassin taunts
you.

Taking Screenshots.

Strangely this game
doesn't like the taking of screenshots and the image is
always incredibly dark. At first I thought this only happened
within the cutscenes but I realised in happens within the
gameplay too. It basically means for every screenshot I take
I need to adjust the contrast and colour saturation manually
so the quality ends up not being as good as it would
otherwise be, sorry about that.

The Huntress.

I'm at the
beginning of the second level playing as the Knight. I've met
up the Huntress who is in full body armour. I can't play as
her until later but even when I do I will still need to
purchase her armour using the in-game gold. She's got a very
unusual whispery voice even when speaking loudly.

The Huntress is an
elf and she has a fair number of weapons at her disposal. She's
unable to cast magic but her crossbows and daggers are more
than enough for her needs. There's something about playing as
an elf, with pointed ears, that gives the game a whole new
meaning. Knights and Sorcerers are still human whereas
playing as the Huntress means you're not playing as a human
at all.

The first level where you have the
option to play as her is about escorting a man named Marcus
across the village which is full of bad guys. You basically
need to help him find certain items and let him through
locked doors while protecting him from attack. There's a good
amount of gold and secret areas so have a good search. There
is a game bug if you travel too far ahead of him where an
unlocked door will be locked once more meaning you have to
unlock it again, but nothing too serious. There's a nice
twist at the end of that level too where a most unexpected
type of creature makes its attack.

The Huntress with her amazing
crossbow.

Floor Puzzle.

The level known as
the Deserted Temple is one of my faves. It involves rescuing
a druid as well as lots of treasure collecting, ghostly
apparitions and walking skeletons, but I'll talk about those
later.

What I want to talk
about is the door puzzle. To be honest it's kind of out of
place with the rest of the game. While this game contains a
mix of action, stealth, exploration, magic and all kinds of
goodies it's in no way a puzzle game yet there is a puzzle to
be solved in order to open the locked door. This puzzle is
more suited to games like Tomb Raider than Enclave. It is
quite simple to solve however once you realise there is a
puzzle to be solved. I won't tell you specifically how to do
it, but it's basically a matter of standing on the larger
coloured tiles in the order of the pattern of the smaller
tiles behind. Then stand in the middle and the door will
unlock and remain unlocked.

There are more tiles inside that set
of dart traps that lose you some energy if you get hit. You
can also use them to lure enemies by getting them to chase
you. On this particular level the druid appears to be immune
from harm so don't worry about letting her run off alone
after you rescue her.

The floor puzzle takes time to
figure out.

Reinstalling.

I had to reinstall
the game and restart from the beginning due to changing from
Windows 7 to Windows 10. Luckily GOG.com allows free
subsequent downloads so there was no need to pay a second
time. It works with Windows 10 but the rare bug or two, such
as the character continuing to walk when the key isn't being
pressed, tends to be more prominent, but it could be a
coincidence. If that does happen press the Windows key to
return to desktop then return to the game as this usually
fixes it.

Downloading again.

Secret Areas.

There are many of
these secret areas scattered around and I'm a long way from
finding them all. One of the features of this game is the
ability to replay levels you've already played in order to
search for more treasure. It'll even tell you how much gold
you've found and how much there is available to find on each
particular level. But there are other secrets too that reveal
such things as one of the game creator's names in lights. You
don't gain anything from finding them but it's a surprise
especially when you discover one by accident.

The best way to find them is to kill
all the bag guys first on a particular level but instead of
exiting walk around and have a thorough search. The rooftops
are a good place to search and remember that even the tiniest
ledge can still be traversed.

Searching the rooftops.

A secret chamber.

Survival Mode.

Each level within
this game is displayed as a new location on your map but
every so often you'll get two new locations. If it's green it's
a location you've already visited but if it's highlighted as
yellow then it's either new or a location you haven't
completed.

A survival location
isn't part of the main story and is simply a side quest in
order to battle with wave after wave of enemies. When you
defeat them all you'll be rewarded with more gold. Sometimes
a new more challenging survival mode will be unlocked
rewarding you with even more gold if you're victorious. You
can still finish the game without playing a single survival
level but more gold means more weapons and armour so it's a
good idea to have a go, even if you're defeated you can still
return to the main game.

Locations available appear on
the map.

Health Restoration
Pool.

On the Deserted
Temple level is a pool of clear sparking water that will
partially restore your health whenever you step into it
causing a chime sound. Jump up and down repeatedly and it
will restore your health to its fullest. You pass this pool a
number of times during this level so it's a good to give
yourself a quick plunge whenever you feel the need. There's
no limit to the number of times you can do this. It looks
refreshing too as even for a fairly old game the water
effects look wonderful. The monsters and bad guys are also
able to enter the pool but it doesn't appear to have the same
restoring effect upon them.

One of the features
of this game is that even though it's linear gameplay, with
one level following from the next and so forth, there isn't
always the usual entrance and exit. In the Deserted Temple
for instance your mission is to rescue a druid, collect
treasure and a map, then leave through the same doorway you
entered. This means you essentially explore the entire temple
complex and leave the same way you came, while killing lots
of enemies along the way.

With a little planning, especially if
you've played this level already, you can use the pool to
restore your energy without you ever needing to use a single
health potion.

A dip in the pool will restore
health.

Checkpoints.

Each level contains
a series of checkpoints, just in case you unfortunately die
and need to respawn, which on many levels can happen fairly
often. The game will only save your current position once you
finish the level so the checkpoints are just a temporary
measure whilst playing.

Each resembles a
golden statue of a female warrior raising a sword and shield.
In front of the statue is a small platform that reminds me of
weighing scales, you don't actually need to step upon it for
the checkpoint to activate, you simply need to be in its
general proximity. It will light up and a chime will play
once you get close.

If you activate a
checkpoint then later die you will respawn at its location.
When you continue and progress further in the level but then
die again you will still respawn at the same location but
your progress will still be stored. So if you killed five
monsters for instance then die you won't have to kill those
same monsters again even if you activated the checkpoint
earlier within the level.

Checkpoint.

Garden checkpoint.

Some checkpoints are in hard to
find locations.

Take care on this checkpoint.

The Underworld.

This has to been
one of the most frustrating levels in the game. It took me a
number of attempts but I finally got through it, which was
down to luck and persistence rather than skill. It's not that
difficult in terms of monsters, most of which are skeletons,
but it's more of a case of trying to avoid falling to your
death.

There are lots of
hidden goodies scattered around the levels. Pots of gold and
crystals, some of which are hidden in plain sight but just
out of reach as if to tease you. They are all accessible so
long as you risk traversing a narrow ledge above boiling lava.

There's a checkpoint about half way
through the level but what's frustrating about it is that it's
a fair distance away from the collapsing platform near the
end. All the skeletons you already destroyed will still
remain dead when you respawn at the checkpoint but it can
still be annoying having to make your way along the same area
of the game time after time only to die on the same
collapsing platform. Eventually you'll work out how to time
your jumps to get past but then there are more skeletons and
a particularly large one. I found it was best to play as the
Wizard on this level as his staff is particularly powerful.

A particularly difficult
challenge.

The Astral Staff.

If you play as the
Druid and select the Astral Staff there is more than just a
burst of magic energy at your disposal. In fact the magic
energy resembles a flock of flying birds that will follow
your enemy which is cool in its own right.

But there is
secondary magic too that the other staffs do not possess. If
you hold down the left mouse button, rather than a simple
click, then the Druid will cast a spell and create a powerful
troll-like companion that will physically attack anyone in
your way. He's not indestructible and will die, but you can
easily re-summon him. Once he's summoned you can still use
the usual burst of magic birds as usual.

His main advantage
is for when you're surrounded by a large group of enemies and
you need to keep some of them busy while you battle the
others.

A mighty weapon.

Summon a troll to assist.

Manipulating
Checkpoints.

I was having
difficulty today on a level known as Kam-Zara. Basically you
have to escort a Wizard to a door then leave him there and
search for three components that form a key then he will open
the door. Luckily he's not one of those feeble characters
that some games have when an escort mission takes place, his
powers and abilities far outway any playable character.
Leaving him on his own isn't a problem.

The problem however
is the amount of bad guy characters that you have to get past
in order to search for the components that form the key. I
was constantly dying and having to replay the level over and
over again, changing characters, trying to select someone who
was stronger. In the end I played as the Halfling.

Then I decided not
to bother searching for the key components or attacking
anyone. I simply ignored the bad guys and ran around the
level exploring until I came across a checkpoint. The unique
style in the way checkpoints work in this game is that it
still keeps track of what you've done even after you die and
return to the said checkpoint. I was able to die multiple
times and respawn knowing my gained progress was still being
saved. It's kind of like having an endless life cheat. That
difficult level became fairly easy in the end.

Incidentally there's a lot of gold on
the Kam-Zara level so have a good look around. There are a
lot of traps too involving spikes so take care, you can even
lure bad guys into them. Another thing I discovered is that
while your character is a good swimmer bad guys aren't and
will always drown very quickly.

Mordessa.

Now it's time for
some real fun where the game flips upon its head and you
essentially re-play the entire game from the bad guys' point
of view. The Dark Campaign can only be played after
completing the Light Campaign, or if you cheat by downloading
someone else's savegame file.

In many ways you
don't actually play a bad person as such, for you're forced
to do evil things by an evil witch named Mordessa, so you can
think of yourself as a good person if you wish. There's also
a choice at the end of the Dark Campaign as to your reward
because I've played it before, but I'll come to that later.

You play as the
same character that died in the opening scene of the Light
Campaign and are sent on errands to do Mordessa's evil
bidding. She herself isn't a playable character which is a
shame because she clearly has an abundant amount of powers at
her disposal.

The opening of the Dark Campaign is
similar to the Light Campaign with a narrator speaking while
turning the pages of a book. The narrator is male rather than
female however and it's odd hearing the same story told from
the point of view of other characters.

You are her slave.

Zurana's Crystal.

This level is
actually quite frightening. You begin with no weapons and
have to search for them, luckily they are not too far from
where you spawned. There are ghosts and skeletons about too
along with traps. Within the distance you can hear the ghosts
and other eerie noises and sounds but I won't say too much as
to avoid spoiling any surprises. There are lots of secrets
too with hidden pots of gold. Once you discover the crystal
itself you have to actually walk into it rather than pick it
up.

There's also the sense that Mordessa
is watching over you, making sure you don't run away. It is
her that sends the portal for your return after each mission.
She does have a reward for you once you fully finish the game
but I won't say too much as to what it actually consists of.

Take lots of care on this level.

It's surreal fighting for the
enemy.

Beautiful Paintings.

I'm constantly
amazed at the amount of artwork that appears in this game.
The paintings in the background, which technically are far
easier to create than the rest of the level, are still a
splendour for the eyes and prove how talented the game's
designers truly are. They fit in with the overall feel of the
game too with paintings contemporary to the time in which it's
set.

I was tempted to
show a lot more screenshots of the paintings here but decided
to keep some back as to avoid spoilers. There are a vast
amount with this game being full of eye-candy. Pay particular
attention to the paintings of castles as I'm sure they are
the same castles that you explore within the game itself.

These paintings often have signatures
too in the form of a symbol and I wonder if that's the true
artist or simply for the sake of realism for the game.

Beautiful art.

A warrior.

A princess perhaps.

Swimming.

For a fairly old
game there are some amazing water effects and it's on par
with the graphics of modern games when it comes to water.
There's a definite feeling of wetness to the sea and lots of
shiny reflections. The swimming animation is neat too. I
suppose the only negative about the graphics is that your
character remains dry once leaving the water.

The are multiple
instances for needing to swim, but in most cases it's to
evade enemies because apparently none of them can swim and
will invariably drown if they make an attempt. But there is a
level in particular that involves a lot of underwater
swimming that's essential in order to progress.

Sometimes the game doesn't like for
you to swim too far and a leaving mission message will appear
on the screen or in some cases a shark!

You're a good swimmer whichever
character you select.

Ouch!

Princess Jasindra.

Level 8 known as
Capture Jasindra is the best level in this entire game. The
premise is to simply kill all the enemies you see until the
end of the level where, with the assistance of another
character you meet along the way, you capture Princess
Jasindra. Her guards incidentally are sleeping so you're
surrounded by them as they awaken. Jasindra is knocked
unconscious and you carry her to the exit portal. It's done
in a very odd way with her vanishing from the screen once you
pick her up and her face appearing in your inventory.

There's a lot of
gold and jewels hidden around the level too so make sure to
have a good search. Try not to fall into the sea as the
respawn appears bugged with you reappearing in the water and
dying over and over again. Ironically some parts of the sea
are swimmable.

What's amazing
about this level, setting it apart from the others, is that
it's vast as you make your way through the forest. In many
ways this is an illusion as the trees often block your path
but it's a feast for the eyes to see the waterfall and gentle
stream leading to the sea. There's the sound of the wind,
birdsong, and leaves falling from the trees along with the
atmospheric background music.

A long search ahead of you.

Two characters pair up.

A vast forest.

An odd location to sleep.

Elven Elite
Huntress.

The Elven
Elite Huntress makes a number of appearances throughout the
Dark Campaign. While she is a playable character within the
Light Campaign she's also a versatile character and a
formidable one too when she's your enemy.

She has various
looks depending on the amount of armour she wears ranging
from ordinary cloth to a full suite of armour. Her fighting
style varies too. Sometimes she attacks one bolt at a time
using her crossbow while at other times she will load up
multiple bolts at a time. What I find particularly
fascinating is when I approach too close for her to use the
crossbow she will change weapon and use her knife instead.
She grunts with annoyance between deeps breaths frustrated
that I'm not dead yet.

A formidable enemy.

A Big Decision.

I'm at the end of
level 11 of the Dark Campaign known as Ungard Mines and it's
time to return through the portal Mordessa left for me
and claim my reward. I've been loyal to her throughout the
Dark Campaign so I'm sure she has a big surprise waiting for
me. But it appears someone else has left another portal for
me but I have no idea as to who it could be. Should I trust
the stranger and betray Mordessa having no idea as to
what awaits me? It's a big decision and I'm sure a very
important one. I'll use Mordessa's portal first and
claim the reward I deserve. If it doesn't work out for me I
can always replay the level.

Incidentally this
is a particularly difficult level with lots of hidden snipers
using crossbows so don't be surprised if it takes a number of
attempts. Just be patient and take out one enemy at a time.
Wear full armour too.

Choose wisely.

Game Summary.

I've finally
completed this game so thought I'd summarise what I thought
about it listing both good and bad aspects. I won't mention
the ending itself other than is was relatively easy, but on
many ways that could count as a good thing.

There's a warm cosy
feeling to this game, with atmospheric graphics that are
brilliantly lit that fit perfectly within the style of
gameplay. The story feels as though it should have been an
RPG yet it steers firmly away from that aspect of gameplay.
Some parts of the game play best as a hack and slash while
other parts are more stealthy. The vast choice of characters
with differing abilities changes the style of the game. In
other words two people can play this game and get an entirely
different experience from it. I personally preferred to play
as characters that wielded magic while still keeping a dagger
at my side.

Just as with the
graphics the music is equally atmospheric ranging from
exciting battle music to general background sound which never
ceases throughout the game. The theme when quitting the game
is wonderfully done too with a female voice chanting in what
sounds to be an ancient language.

I personally found
the Dark Campaign far more enjoyable than the Light Campaign
and while there was less choice of characters it still
possessed varied gameplay. However the Dark Campaign cannot
be played without playing the Light Campaign first. In many
ways this saves the best until last but I could imagine a lot
of people never getting that far and missing a lot of the fun.

There were a number
of annoyances but not enough to ruin the game. The initial
game intro was constantly annoying but easy to skip by
pressing the enter key. On occasion the background music
became clippy like a stuck record but it would quickly fix
itself. There was also a bug where the character I was
playing would continue to move forward while my finger wasn't
touching the forward control. Pressing the Windows key to
display the computer desktop then returning to the game would
fix the bug. The game subtitles contained the occasional word
change to what a character was actually saying and never
stuck with a consistent spelling of the word "honour"
but that's not really important. Incidentally I started
playing on Windows 7 then changed to Windows 10, and I
noticed that taking screenshots using the Print Screen button
appears to have been improved using Windows 10, as they
tended to be far darker with Windows 7.

Another interesting
note during the end credits the voice actors appear to have
had other roles within the making of the game. Some are games
designers rather than professional voice actors. This didn't
effect the game in any negative way however but I just
thought is was interesting.

This game has lots
of replay value especially in that you can pick and choose
your fave level rather than restarting from the beginning.
There's plenty to explore when replaying the game with lots
of hidden gold and jewels scattered around each level. There's
also an online community of fans that have made customised
skins so you can replay as your favourite character wearing a
new costume. If you're stuck on the game, having never fully
completed it, you can even download other people's savegame
files.